


Suspension of Disbelief

by StarCollector88



Category: The Monkees, The Monkees (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 23:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16418363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarCollector88/pseuds/StarCollector88
Summary: Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you in ways you would never expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My stories reference my previous stories.

Davy awoke to a ruckus going on outside his bedroom in the beach house he shared with his three roommates/bandmates/best friends. Why does Micky have to be himself so early in the morning? He wasn’t angry though. Davy enjoyed the personalities and quirks of his friends. Even if sometimes their antics got them into trouble, he wouldn’t trade them for any other guys in the world. He had lived with them since he had moved from England three years ago. He needed some stability in his life after that move, even if it involved some outrageous circumstances.  
Davy decided to get up and start getting ready to take on the day. He had no idea his plans for the day or even what was going on outside of his bedroom door, but he knew that the possibilities were endless. He got dressed and took a deep breath before entering out into the sure utter chaos that awaited him.  
Upon opening the door Davy noticed Micky and Peter standing in the middle of what looked like a makeshift boxing ring. They had two mattresses side by side flat on the floor with four line queues (from God knows where) around as the ropes. Both Micky and Peter were dressed in in improvised wrestling costumes which consisted of unitards (acquired from helping the Russian ballerina Natasha) with beach towels pinned on serving as capes. Micky was speaking into a fake microphone, “Welcome to the match of the century! In this corner in the red we have The Torturous Tork and in the other corner wearing black is The Diabolical Dolenz. Gentlemen start your engines!”  
“Start your engines?” questioned Peter.  
“Oh yeah wrong match,” answered Micky.  
“What are you two doing?” Davy interrupted hands on hips, “I’m guessing Mike isn’t here otherwise he would have put a stop to this nonsense. I assume also that this was Micky’s idea. Peter you shouldn’t encourage Micky’s shenanigans. We’ve talked about this.”  
“What shenanigans? We are preparing for different career opportunities for times when gigs are scarce,” Micky countered.  
“Plus we get to enjoy the pageantry,” Peter added.  
Davy rolled his eyes. “I’m not even going to dignify this conversation with another response. Where is Mike anyway?”  
“Mike went down to the music store to look around and I think he was going to run other errands too,” said Peter.  
“How long ago did he leave- Never mind. I’m guessing enough time for you two to set up this atrocity,” Davy gestured at the wrestling ring. “I’m going to see if I can meet him there. I wanted to check some things out myself.”  
“You sure you don’t want to stick around?” asked Peter.  
“Yeah Dave get in on this action! And wearing the blue we have The Jittery Jones!” Micky announced.  
“The Jittery Jones?” Davy asked quizzically with a cocked eyebrow. “That will strike fear into thousands.”  
“Okay the name needs work,” Micky responded. “The Manchester Menace?”  
“No thanks. I had enough experience in the ring when I boxed for Mr. Shylock…”  
“Sholto,” corrected Peter.  
“Right, Sholto,” Davy finished.  
“Suit yourself,” Micky said with a shrug.   
“See you all later, assuming Mike doesn’t come home and kill you first.”  
“I think Mike is going to be impressed with our initiative,” argued Micky grabbing Peter from behind into a headlock.  
“Sure. Bye.”  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy arrived at the music store and saw Mike talking to the store owner about what was new in the store. Mike noticed Davy as soon as arrived, “Hey, Davy.”  
“Hey Mike, I thought I would meet you here and see what other plans you had for the day.”  
“I was planning to look around here while I was getting some guitar strings and looking around for gigs downtown in the entertainment district. Why did you want to tag along?”  
“Well I thought I might, but I also wanted to warn you about what’s going on back at the pad,” Davy prompted with a smile.  
“Do I even want to know?”  
“Well Micky had one of his ‘brilliant ideas’ again, and I’m not sure if this particular scheme will cause any property damage...”  
Mr. Babbitt would surely kick them out of the beach house for any significant damage since he wasn’t their biggest fan in the first place. Mike darted towards the door. “Forget the plans. I have to go take care of some Monkee business.”  
“Don’t worry Mike, I’ll head downtown to check out those gigs,” Davy called after him with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Davy had spent the past hour and a half walking around the entertainment district looking at bulletin boards and going into businesses to see what gigs were available. He found a combination of auditions to play at restaurants and band contests. He was absentmindedly looking at one of the fliers he had picked up when he bumped into a table and staggered backward.  
“Oh my, are you alright?”  
Davy regained his footing and began to look up from the ground. “Oh I’m okay. It’s my fault, I wasn’t paying atten…”  
As Davy looked up he locked eyes with what he believed to be the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had large brown eyes and long, dark brown hair. She was smiling sweetly back at him. He could barely focus on what she was saying with the stars in his eyes and his heart racing.  
“Pardon me, what did you say Miss…”  
“Goodwin. My name is April Goodwin. I was saying that you are the first person I have gotten to stop at my table all day,” she said with a laugh.  
“Pleased to meet you April. My name is Davy Jones. I apologize for disrupting your work. What are you doing with this table here?”  
“Well I was trying to drum up business to save my family’s theater. The Goodwin Theater has been in my family for four generations. My great-grandfather began this theater to start the entertainment district here. And now we have not had successful shows and/or appearances in years. We have been unable to pay our property taxes in quite some time, and the bank is threatening to foreclose the theater. I was looking to do a benefit show of sorts and have set up this table not only to sell tickets, but also see if I can get acts to appear as a donation. So far though nobody has even stopped and looked my way. That is until you came along.” She gave him a wide smile.  
Davy blushed a little. “I’m sorry to hear that. When is this benefit supposed to take place?”  
“In about a month and a half on the twelfth, but if I can’t obtain any interest I won’t be having anything except a bank foreclosure.”  
She looked so forlorn and Davy was a sucker for the ‘damsel in distress’ situation. Especially for someone so attractive. The wheels in his head started turning.  
“April, I want to do something to help you. And I know just what that is.”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
“I don’t know what in the world you two were thinking,” Mike stated as he watched Peter clean up the wrestling ring with his hand resting on his forehead as if he had a headache. “Peter you know better than to encourage Micky’s schemes.”  
“Mike you know I’m impressionable or else I wouldn’t have signed a lifetime contract at Renaldo’s Dance Au Go Go.”  
Mike shook his head and looked over to see Micky feverishly running around picking up random items. “Now Micky what are you doing? You’re supposed to be cleaning up the wrestling fiasco too."  
“Mike there is no time for cleaning up failed plans when there are other brilliant ideas on the horizon. You have to strike while the iron is hot.”  
“That sounds painful,” Peter said.   
“We are going to start an animal shelter. I can see it now, on a sign out front the ‘I’m Gonna Buy Me a Dog Shelter,’” Micky said waving his hands around as if making an imaginary sign. “Big Peter, help me gather supplies like bowls and anything to make cages for the animals.”  
Peter began to set down the mattress he was lugging back to the bedroom. “Peter you better get back to work on that wrestling ring deconstruction. Don’t humor Micky,” said Mike. “Micky does a fine enough job doing that himself.”  
Right then the door opened and Davy came inside. He leaned against the door with a dreamy look on his face. “Hey Davy how did the gig search go,” asked Mike. “Davy?...Davy?...” Mike waved his hand in front of Davy’s face, “Oh no, I should have known this would happen.”  
“He’s in love,” Peter, Mike, and Micky said monotonously in unison.  
Davy snapped out of his lovesick trance. “Hey fellas you’ll never guess what happened to me today,” he said dreamily.  
“You fell in love,” they answered again in unison.  
“How did you know that?”  
“Well for starters, you haven’t gotten away from the front door and are still holding onto the door knob,” Mike answered.  
“And you have that love struck look on your face,” Peter continued.  
“Yes, but this time is different. I have never felt this way before.”  
“You tell that you’ve never been this way before,” sang Micky, “You tell me things I know that I’ve heard somewhere.”  
“Knock it off Micky! I’m serious this time. April is amazing. She is smart…”  
“…and beautiful and we have a date this weekend,” Micky finished for him.  
“No that’s just the thing guys. I didn’t ask her out on a date. I want to take my time with her get to know her first. She really could be the one.”  
“Sure,” they all answered seemingly completely unconvinced.  
“Please tell me you looked for gigs as well,” Mike said changing the subject.  
“As a matter of fact I did. I found a few auditions and contests. And I did us one better, I got us a gig as the main performer at the Goodwin Theater,” Davy said with a satisfactory grin.  
“The Goodwin Theater? Isn’t that place closed? I haven’t seen anyone around there or any shows advertised in I don’t know how long,” Peter inquired.  
“See that’s the thing. April’s family owns the Goodwin Theater. They have had difficulty securing business and the bank is going to foreclose on the property. She is trying to create a benefit show to raise money to keep the theater in her family. I happened to mention The Monkees to her and she wanted us to be the main performance closing the benefit!”  
“That’s amazing Davy! How much does it pay?” Micky asked.  
“Well about that…” he said staring at the floor rather than Mike’s face, “since they don’t have much money it would be a donation, meaning free.”  
“What?!?” Mike shouted.  
“Isn’t that dumb? It makes my wrestling thing sound a bit more sane, right Mike?”  
“Not even close, Mick,” Mike said shaking his head. “There no way we can take that job, man. We need paying gigs so we can keep ourselves in the lap of luxury. You told her we would think about it, right?” Mike asked hopefully.  
“Um, no. I told her we would be delighted to help,” he gave Mike a weak smile.  
“Davy, now that was a dumber idea than one of Micky’s ideas.”   
“I knew it!” Micky exclaimed.  
“We need the money, we can’t give up paying gigs for this one just because you have a thing for this chick,” Mike said.  
“I know guys, I’m sorry. I guess I got caught up in her eyes.” Davy shook his head in an attempt to shake the image of April out of his mind. “Listen, she’s coming over tomorrow afternoon to talk about the benefit and hear us play. If after that meeting you’re not willing to perform at the benefit, we will bow out. At least hear her out first. What do you say?”  
“Okay,” Mike said, “But I’m still skeptical about this whole thing.”  
“If you’re feeling skeptical, you should see a doctor,” Peter said.  
Davy gave Peter a strange look and then looked back to Mike. “Thanks fellas. That’s all I ask.” He began to survey the room. “Now I have a question… What is Micky doing now?”


	3. Chapter 3

Davy had woken up before the others. He wanted to make sure the pad was spotless and presentable for April’s arrival at noon. He was glad that the guys had agreed to at least be open minded about the benefit show. They had spent the rest of the day yesterday rehearsing and coming up with a potential set list.   
Davy shook his head as he picked up all the remnants of Micky’s animal shelter scheme. Micky abandoned the idea pretty quickly for rehearsal and when he thought about walking fifteen dogs at once. Davy doubted that Micky would even remember the idea once he discovered something new. At least Peter and Micky had cleaned up the wrestling ring since they needed those mattresses to sleep on.   
After Davy was satisfied with his cleaning job, he began on his appearance. He wanted to make sure April found him irresistible. Not that he ever had a problem in that department. It was just that, Davy had not sensed if she had an attraction to him. He was hoping she could see him as a romantic interest. That’s what was different usually he wasn’t concerned about anyone finding him attractive.  
By time he had tried on just about every item of clothing he owned and finally decided on an outfit, it was almost noon. Davy came downstairs to see that the guys were already down there and waiting.   
“Wow Davy this place almost doesn’t look like the pad with how much you have cleaned. Are you guys sure we didn’t move?” Peter said.   
“Thanks Peter. I hope April is impressed.”  
“Why wouldn’t she be? This place is a palace. And you…aren’t you a little overdressed?” asked Micky looking at Davy’s tuxedo ensemble.  
“You think it’s too much?” Davy asked.  
“Well, not if you’re planning on being the wait staff at this shindig,” Mike commented.  
“Davy just be yourself. Girls usually love small, cute little things,” Micky joked.  
“Ha-ha…no. Now be on your best behavior guys she will be here any m…” There was a knock on the door. “She’s here!” Davy exclaimed feeling an extreme nervousness all the sudden. He began pacing back and forth.  
“Cool it Davy and go answer the door,” Mike said.  
“Right, I like the way you think!” Davy opened the door to see April on the other side looking even more stunning than he had remembered. “Hi, Davy.” He stood staring at her in the doorway.  
“Davy, invite April in,” Mike guided.  
“Oh yeah, sorry April. Come on in. I would like you to meet my friends Mike, Micky, and Peter,” Davy said flustered.  
“Nice to meet you all.”  
“It’s a pleasure April. Welcome to our place. Have a seat,” Mike said gesturing toward the table. They all sat down.  
April began telling the guys about her family’s history of owning the theater and about the foreclosure. “So if we don’t raise the money we owe by the thirteenth of next month the bank is going to take over the theater. I’m hoping that with ticket sales and people at the show donating money we can get our head above water. Also, I’m hoping to renew interest in the theater. If we are a hit, I can promise you guys that you will have a headlining gig at the Goodwin for as long as you need it.”  
“That sounds great April,” said Mike warming up to the idea, “I think we would be able to perform at the benefit. How many songs would we perform?”  
“Well, I was thinking about a six song set to end the show.”  
“Have you secured other acts yet?” Micky asked.  
“Unfortunately, I don’t have enough acts yet. I need about five total. So far, I have you all closing, a magician, and a family friend that we promised a spot even though I am not thrilled about his contribution.”  
“What does he do?” Peter inquired.  
April rolled her eyes as she answered, “Plays the spoons.”  
Everyone erupted into laughter. Except for Davy. He had not contributed to the conversation at all. He seemed to be too enamored with April to even notice anything being said. Davy sat next to April, elbow on the table with chin in hand just staring at her. Mike noticed Davy’s disinterest in the conversation and made a suggestion.  
“Say April, why don’t we play for you? So you can get an idea of what you’re getting yourself into.”  
“Sounds fantastic! I have been excited to hear you all play,” April exclaimed looking straight at Davy.  
This seemed to knock Davy out of his trance. “Oh really? We will play for you then. Take a seat front and center here.”  
April took her place in front of the band stand as the guys discussed what to play. “I think we should let Davy sing this one in order to impress his lady love,” Micky said batting his eyelashes.  
“Come off it Micky!” Davy protested taking a swipe at the drummer, “Even though that does sound like a plan to me.”  
“Ok, let’s go out with Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” decided Mike.  
They took their positions on the band stand. “Okay April, get ready to be blown away,” Micky said.  
“She better anchor herself to that chair if a storm is coming,” said Peter looking a little concerned.  
“Oh brother! Let’s get started…I,2,3,4,” counted Micky.  
Through the performance, Davy tried his hardest to impress April. He looked into her eyes the entire time. If he wasn’t mistaken he thought he saw a twinkle in her eyes. The song ended and Davy waited with bated breath for April’s response.  
April stood and began applauding. “That was amazing! Better than anything I could have anticipated. Davy, I had no idea you had such a wonderful singing voice.”  
Davy blushed and looked down at the floor, “Thank you, April. I’m glad you liked it.”  
“Well you guys will be perfect. And I have no doubts that we will be able to raise the funds we need. I more excited than ever about the benefit.”  
“Fantastic April,” Mike said, “Now would you excuse Micky, Peter, and I we have to some matters to attend to upstairs.” Mike winked at Davy. Mike was giving Davy a chance to be alone with April and ask her out on a date.  
“What do we have to do upstairs?” asked Peter. “Yeah I don’t have specific things to do today,” continued Micky obviously not getting the hint.  
“Well I said you do, come on,” said Mike grabbing them both by the collar a dragging them toward the staircase. “See you later April.”  
“Nice to meet you three,” she called after them as they ascended the stairs and were out of sight already. “Your friends are great.” She had stood up and looked like she was getting ready to head out.  
“Yeah they are the best.” Okay Davy it’s now or never, he thought. “April, I was wondering what else you had planned for the day?”  
“My brother Rob is manning the table outside the theater today so that I could come over. So I have the day free. Why do you ask?”  
“I was wondering if you would be interested in going for a walk on the beach with me,” he said shyly.  
“That sounds great. But I do have one request.”  
“And what is that?”  
“I don’t think a tuxedo would be appropriate beach attire,” she said with a laugh.  
Davy laughed nervously, “Oh yeah, I will definitely change.” He looked up and saw three pairs of eyes staring from the upstairs bedroom door.


	4. Chapter 4

Davy crept through the front door after bidding April goodnight. He had an amazing time with her on the beach. They had spent hours walking and Davy learning more about her. If even possible, he loved her even more. April had additional aspects of herself that Davy found captivating. He felt like his breath was being taken away every time he looked at her.  
Davy felt as though he could float to his room since he was on cloud nine. That feeling was startled away when he saw his friends all staring at him from the table.  
“Don’t do that,” Davy exclaimed putting his hand on his chest.  
“So how did it go?” Micky asked.  
“Does she like you? Did you kiss her?” Peter added.  
“And more importantly could you reach her to kiss her?” Micky joked.  
Davy glared at Micky. And Mike interrupted before this went any further, “Will you both cool it. Let Davy have his privacy…unless he wants to of course…”  
The three friends leaned forward staring at Davy with their chins resting in their hands.  
“Alright fellas you win. I had an amazing time with April. I learned more about her life and have only strengthened my feelings for her. She has more to offer than I ever could have expected,” he gushed.  
“Did you share anything about yourself?” Mike asked breaking Davy out of his daze. The guys knew that Davy was a very private guy. Specifically he was very tight-lipped about his life in England prior to moving to the US. All they knew was he had no family left and that he left to pursue music. That was all he would share. It was concerning to his friends, but they chose not to press the matter.  
“I told her about coming here three years ago and forming the band with you all.”  
“Nothing about life in England?” Peter asked. Mike put his hand over his face, knowing full well Davy would shut down at the mention of England.  
“No, Peter. I was more interested in her,” Davy answered a slight hint of irritation in his voice.  
“So when are you going to see her again?” Micky asked changing the subject from England.  
“We are planning to go out again this weekend. And thanks fellas for giving me the opportunity to be alone and make that move, I needed to be pushed.”  
“That’s so interesting, because normally you’re so forward with girls,” Peter acknowledged seeming a little confused.  
“You’re right,” Davy said contemplating the comment. “This situation is so different. She makes me nervous for some reason. I think it’s because I’m so attracted to her inside and out. I’m guessing that’s it. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”  
“I can further investigate your symptoms,” Micky offered being dressed up as a doctor seemingly out of nowhere placing a stethoscope on Davy’s chest.  
“Um, no thanks Dr. Dolenz. I believe you’re a quack,” he said pushing Micky aside.  
“Funny, Micky doesn’t look like a duck,” Peter said.  
Mike rolled his eyes at the ridiculous banter. “Well I’m glad things worked out for you. Now let’s all get some rest because tomorrow Davy owes us another trip downtown to look for paying gigs,” Mike stated.  
“Alright fair enough,” Davy said.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
The weekend had arrived and Davy was once again nervous. He had decided to take April out for a modest dinner, since the group had succeeded in securing a gig and had some extra cash. She should be arriving in the next 15 minutes and he could not shake the feeling of being on edge. He had been pacing the floor for the past 10 minutes.  
“See what did I tell you? The name Jittery Jones was accurate!” Micky joked.  
Davy stopped his ritual with that comment. “What do you mean?”  
“I mean you are wearing a run-down path through the center of the room.”  
“Yeah, Tiny. Don’t start sweating through your second outfit,” Mike joined in.  
“Too late,” Davy answered. “Well on to the next shirt. Good thing I lined them up in preparation.”  
“I hope she gets here soon or you’ll be going shirtless,” Peter said.  
“I don’t think the ladies necessarily mind that,” Micky said.   
As if on cue, when Davy finished changing his shirt there was a knock at the door.  
“Want me to get that Davy? So you can keep her waiting, play hard to get?” Micky continued to tease.  
“No, I think I’m past that point,” Davy answered. “See you all later, don’t wait up.”  
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Micky called after him.  
“That leaves very little,” Mike countered.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy mindlessly stared across the table listening to April tell stories about her life.   
“Listen to me! I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking,” April said.  
“Darling, I could listen to you talk all night,” Davy said dreamily.  
“Well, I’m going to pause because I want to learn about you. I feel like you could write my biography!”  
“I’ve told you quite a bit about myself. Like the time we took on the toy company or the gypsies, Russian spies, Captain Crocodile, the horse…”  
“Yes, I have heard those stories. You have led an adventurous life here in America.”  
“I wouldn’t say adventurous, so much as trouble just happens to find us. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  
“I was wondering if you could talk about life in England. I always wondered what it would be like to live in another country. If you’re willing,” she responded with a hopeful look in her eyes.  
How could Davy say no to those eyes? It was just that he left that chapter in England where it belonged. He didn’t even share that information with his friends. Davy was hoping that April would just ignore the fact that he had a British accent. Difficult not to notice he was aware. He didn’t want to dismiss April, so he decided to do what he always did, give the bare minimum of information.  
“Not much to tell,” he shrugged. “I have no close family out there. My parents died when I was a teenager. I lived with my grandfather, but we were never that close. He was more domineering than anything. He actually came out here some time ago to convince me to move back. I don’t think he could stand not having me around to control honestly. My grandfather died soon after that. I wanted to move to America for more opportunities in the entertainment industry. And here I am.” He hoped that was enough.  
“Oh,” April replied seeming disappointed that the answer was so vague and heartbreaking. “I didn’t know that part of your life was so challenging.”  
“Well, I like to move forward and not live in the past. That’s why most of the information I give about myself has to do with my time in America,” Davy said absently wanting to disconnect from the conversation.  
“I can definitely understand that,” April said taking his hand in hers. Davy felt electricity flowing through their hands. He had to take a moment to catch his breath. “I’m glad you made your way to America and especially at a time when you could stumble into my table in front of the theater.”  
“Me too, April. Me too,” he answered leaning in for a kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

The time had finally come and it was the night before the benefit show. April told the guys that she had secured two more acts for the show, a comedy routine and an acrobatic act. This new development caused Micky to come up with the brilliant idea of installing a trapeze bar in the middle of the pad much to Mike’s chagrin.   
Davy continued to date April and was falling more and more in love with her during each interaction. He still had a nagging feeling of anxiety every time he was going to see her. Davy had dismissed the feeling as being in love and nothing to be concerned about. He figured that eventually those butterflies in his stomach would settle down.  
“Micky, will you get down from that trapeze so we can finish up rehearsing,” Mike chastised shaking his head. This was a sentence that should not come up in every day conversation, but when Micky was around there were no guarantees.  
Micky flipped off the trapeze and fell flat onto the floor. “As you can see Mike, I need trapeze rehearsal as well. That dismount needs some work.”  
“A lot of work,” Davy countered.  
“Practice makes perfect,” Micky replied, “and sometimes you have to suffer for your art.”  
“Well, if you suffer any more for your ‘art’, you’re going to break something and we will be out a drummer,” Mike said.  
“How could Micky hurt himself painting,” Peter questioned.  
“Not literally painting art…Never mind! We need to get rehearsing,” Mike said firmly.  
Everyone took their places on the makeshift stage in the pad and to rehearse the six song set list for the show. They had decided that everyone should have a chance to sing one song and have Micky sing the last two. In between the third and fourth song the front door opened and April peeked inside.  
“Hey guys! I came to see how rehearsal was going since I knew that’s what you all were up to tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”  
Davy walked towards her and took her into a loving embrace. “Of course we don’t mind, Love. Do we fellas?” he said as he glanced back towards his friends.  
“Not at all,” Mike and Micky seemed to say in unison.  
Davy couldn’t help but notice that Peter was just staring towards April and himself. The look was not confusion or longing. He couldn’t possibly blame Peter if he was admiring April’s beauty, she was striking after all. “Are you okay, Peter?”  
“Huh? Oh yeah. Completely okay with April watching us rehearse…I was just lost in thought about the fact that in the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, they never do say that he is actually an egg.”  
Everyone turned and looked at Peter quizzically and then shrugged, because well that’s Peter for you.  
“Pete, you never cease to amaze me,” Micky said grabbing his shoulders.  
“That’s what I’m here for,” Peter said with a reassuring smile.  
They finished the rehearsal to a standing ovation from their only audience member; well only if you don’t count Mr. Schneider.   
“Fantastic!”  
“I’m glad you approve, Sweetheart,” Davy said kissing her cheek.  
Micky pretended to vomit behind his drum set. “You know I have never been a sweet tooth. And this display is giving me cavities.”  
“I really should get going. We have a big day tomorrow. You guys are on at seven, but feel free to come by and watch the other acts beforehand. Davy, could I ask a favor of you?”  
“Name it,” he said giving her a broad smile.  
“Would you be able to come to the theater earlier tomorrow to help Rob and I set up for the day?”  
“Anything for you. What time?”  
“Noon since the show begins at three that should be plenty of time,” she said and then gave him a long, deep kiss. “You’re the best, Cutie Pie.”  
There was a roar of laughter from behind them. “Cutie Pie?” laughed Micky. “That is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time!”  
“Oh come off it Micky!” Davy complained slightly embarrassed.  
“Whatever you say…Cutie Pie!” he continued laughing.  
Davy rolled his eyes. “Sorry about that April. I will see you tomorrow.” He kissed her again.  
“Bye,” she said.  
Davy closed the door and crossed the room towards the drum set with the laughing hyena behind it. Micky saw him coming and ran out the back door towards the beach and Davy followed after him.  
“Come back guys! Don’t kill each other before this gig tomorrow, we need both of you in top performance shape!” Mike yelled after them. “Don’t cry, Peter. They aren’t really going to kill each other.”  
“I’m not crying because of that. I can’t play the bass and tambourine if Davy doesn't come back, I don’t have enough hands,” he wailed.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy woke up early to get ready for the big day. He had satisfying rest the night before. Slightly, due to the fact that he was in love and slightly, because he caught up to Micky the day before and gave him a friendly reminder of why you don’t mess with a vertically challenged Englishman.  
As Davy got ready, he started thinking about the turn his life had taken recently. He was in a wonderful relationship that was lasting and his friends had an opportunity for a standing gig at the theater. Everything seemed to be going right for a change. Davy knew that America was going to be the right choice for him.  
“Alright fellas, I’m going to be heading over to the theater now. What time do you all think you will head over?”  
“I feel that we need to forego seeing the other acts as much as possible, so that Micky doesn’t get anymore ‘brilliant ideas,’” Mike said as he watched Micky fail at another dismount.  
“Just think though Mike. The more I’m exposed to, the sooner I move on from acrobatics,” Micky replied.  
“The only act I want you to see is the guy playing the spoons, which seems the safest route. Davy, make sure the spoon guy goes on right before us,” Mike said.  
“Mike, don’t underestimate the danger of spoons. Especially soup spoons,” Peter offered with a shudder.  
“Consider it done, Mike,” Davy laughed. “See you all later.”


	6. Chapter 6

Davy arrived at the theater at twelve on the dot. He was given instructions to enter through a side door instead of the front. Once inside, he marveled at the architecture and adornment of the aging theater. Sure some things had seen better days, but Davy knew that the Goodwins probably didn’t have the funding to make many aesthetic improvements.  
Davy was not exactly sure where he was meeting April and believed his best bet was to go backstage. There he saw a tall young man with black hair. “Excuse me, sir? I’m looking for April Goodwin.”  
“You must be Davy. I’m Rob, April’s brother. I’ve heard wonderful things about you,” Rob answered sounding a bit distracted.  
“Pleasure to meet you, Rob. I’ve heard some great things about yourself as well. Where can I find April to get started?” Davy asked warily.  
“That’s just the thing,” Rob answered looking nervous. “I haven’t seen April for at least an hour. She mentioned going to look for something for the show and has not been back yet. I just realized how long she had actually been gone right before you arrived. I had been so busy that time flew by. I haven’t had a chance to look around yet and there is so much left to do,” Rob finished hurriedly. Davy didn’t think Rob even took a breath during that exchange.  
“Don’t worry, Rob,” Davy said even though his own mind was racing and he felt his own feelings of concern creeping up on him. “I’m sure April got caught up in something or maybe a door locked behind her from the inside. Finish doing what needs to get done and I will start looking around for her. Any particular places I should start?”  
“Well, there are several hallways in the backstage areas with different storage and dressing rooms. Since she was looking for supplies, I’d start there.”  
“Great, we will have her back and ready to go in no time!”  
“I sure hope you’re right…”  
So did Davy.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy had been wandering the back halls of the theater for an hour already with no luck. There were more hallways and random rooms than he could have anticipated. It was like a maze and there was definitely no map. And with only two hours now until show time, his anxiety was starting to grow. Where could she have gotten to, he thought, I hope nothing bad happened to her. He continued to press on looking for her.  
This was it the final hall. It looked as if there was only one door at the very end of the hall. This has just got to be it.  
The hallway was long and very dimly lit. It was almost difficult to even make out his hand in front of his face. “April!” Davy called out hopeful for an answer. Only silence in return. He kept moving forward.  
As he got closer to the door he could hear rustling sounds. Davy picked up his pace to get to the door quicker. When he reached out to grab the door knob he suddenly felt a hand cover his mouth from behind and someone grab him around the arms and waist. He struggled to free himself and to cry out for help. Before he could struggle too much though, he blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Davy began to stir and reorient himself to the series of events. He attempted to stand up and realized that he was bound to a chair. Ropes tied around his chest to the back of the chair, with wrists tied together behind his back, and ankles tied together as well. He tried to call out for help and was stifled by a bandana tied around his mouth.   
Davy panicked as he tried to remember what happened beforehand. He had come to the theater and accosted from behind while he was searching for…April! He had not found her yet and given his current predicament he was more anxious about what had happened to her. He struggled trying to free himself from the ropes. He looked around the room desperately trying to devise some sort of plan to get out of this.  
“Well, well, well…Look who finally came to, Bruce,” said a burly man in the corner.  
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Rick and I were wondering when you would grace us with your presence,” said Bruce the other thug as they made their way towards a helpless Davy.  
Davy struggled harder to free himself. He had no idea who these two goons were and he definitely did not want to find out. “Look at the little guy squirm,” Bruce laughed obnoxiously. He untied Davy’s gag.  
“What’s going on? Let me go! Who are you and what do you want from me? Where’s April?” Davy spat.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy Pintsize,” Rick tormented. “You’ll get your answers when our boss wants you to. We have strict orders to keep you both here restrained until the boss is ready to reveal the plan.”  
“Both?” It was at that moment that Davy looked right and saw April in the same situation he was tied to a chair. She was still passed out. This enraged Davy.  
“You bloody heathens!” Davy yelled struggling harder against his bonds. “You better not harm her in anyway or I’ll…”  
“Or you’ll what?” Bruce growled clicking open a switchblade and placing it near Davy’s throat. “You seem to forget that you are currently powerless. So I would watch what you say unless you want a real close shave job. Come on, Rick let’s go and wait on the boss. These two aren’t going anywhere. See you later, Sweetheart,” he finished patting Davy’s cheek. They both exited the room.  
Davy continued to scan the room and struggle against his bindings. He had been kidnapped before; in fact it was a regular occurrence being a Monkee. However, this time seemed different. These weren’t the bumbling small crooks he was used to. These two were professional goons and he had no doubt that the boss would be even more intimidating. There was no use wasting energy on untying himself. He would just wait for April to wake up and make sure she was okay.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Micky limped across the floor of the pad to start packing his drum set up. “Okay you may have been right, Mike. No more acrobatics.”  
“Well, that’s a relief…Unless you have another equally ridiculous plan already forming in your noggin’.”  
“No, Mike honest. I’m really hurt this time.”  
“We may need a wheelchair for, Micky. He walks like an old man,” Peter said.  
“That’s it!” Micky jumped seeming to forget his injury. “Old person day care! We will call it ‘Shades of Gray.’ We’ll make millions!”  
Mike face palmed. “When am I going to learn or lose my mind?”  
“With my calculations,” Peter said with calculator in hand, “and the way that Jupiter is aligned…within the next week.”  
Mike walked towards the phone that began ringing. “That sounds accurate. Hello? Yes this is… Uh-huh… That’s too bad… Uh-huh, sure… Right. Thanks, bye.” Mike hung up and began scratching his head.   
“What was that about, Mike?” Micky inquired.  
“That was Rob from the theater…”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy watched as April began to stir. He was relieved that she appeared to be doing well considering the circumstances. He watched as she looked around nervously and realized that she was tied to a chair. She noticed Davy right away.  
“Davy!” she exclaimed sounding fearful. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”  
“April, darling! I’m so thankful that you’re awake. We’re being held captive by someone. I’m sure who or why. I was snatched in a hallway backstage when I was looking for you. The two goons that were in here earlier said their boss would come in and tell us soon enough. What happened to you?”  
“I was looking around in the storage rooms for decorations for the stage. When I was walking down one of the hallways someone grabbed me and put their hand over my mouth. The next thing I remember is just now.”  
“Do you have an idea who could be behind this?”  
“Honestly, not for sure. My dad has some business partners that I’m sure would love to see this show fail so they can sell the theater for profit. I can’t be completely certain, but that’s all I can think of. How are we going to get of this?”  
“So far I have no luck trying to escape these ropes. The only thing I am hoping for is someone to come looking for us and rescue us. Hopefully, Rob will come through and if not my friends are professionals in getting ourselves out of scrapes. I have all the faith in the world in those three.”  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
“What did Rob say, Mike,” Peter asked.  
“He said that the comedy act offended the whole audience right off the bat with a politically charged joke. The audience all got up and walked out without any donations being made. That was it the show can no longer go on without an audience. So he told us not to bother coming down.”  
“Wow, that’s unfortunate. I feel horrible for April’s family,” Micky said.  
“Yeah, me too. I’m guessing Davy will be sticking around with her to help console her,” Mike said.  
“Davy can’t counsel people he’s not a therapist,” Peter said.  
“So what should we do now with our free time?” Micky asked with a devilish grin ignoring Peter’s statemnt. “Peter, would you like to begin getting the supplies together for the…”  
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Mike warned.  
“Supplies for what?” Peter said obviously in the dark about Micky’s plans.  
“Just ignore him, Peter. Remember he doesn’t need encouragement,” Mike said casting an angry glare at Micky. “Who is up for poker?”  
Micky was suddenly dressed as a casino dealer with a cigar in mouth. “The name of the game is Dirty Dolenz. Joker’s wild.” He tried to shuffle and all the cards spilled onto the floor. “Or 52 pick up.”  
“This is going to be a long night,” Mike said noting his company. “I wish Davy were here.”  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy had been racking his brain trying to come up with a plan. So far he had come up short. Well I’m not Mike, he thought. He just wanted to keep April safe, which was his main concern. Even if he had to sacrifice himself for her freedom it would be worth it.  
Davy glanced over at her. She was visibly shaken and looked defeated with her head down and tears streaked down her face. He hated to see her this way. Davy wanted April to have her mind occupied with something else. How could he make her feel more at ease….He got an idea.  
“April, dear please don’t cry. Let me try something.” He mustered up all his strength and stated, “A man in love has the strength of thousands.” He pulled at his ropes and nothing happened. “Well it worked once before.”  
“I promise I will do everything I can to make sure you’re safe. I can understand you’re scared, believe me I am too,” he said desperately. “I want to ease your mind and comfort you. Could I sing to you?”  
April looked up and sniffled. She looked so innocent and angelic that Davy again fell more deeply in love with her. “Oh, Davy would you please! You always know what to do to make me feel better.”  
Davy took a deep breath to soothe his nerves. He wasn’t nervous to sing in front of April, but the circumstances made him have to stay strong for her and he couldn’t have his voice breaking.  
“I wanna be free. Like the blue birds flying by me. Like the waves out on the blue sea. If your love has to tie me…”  
Davy made eye contact with April as he began. He couldn’t help but smile at the tie line.  
He began to immerse himself more into the process of the singing the song, getting lost in the music. Closing his eyes and remembering their first date at the beach.  
“I wanna be free, I wanna be free, I wanna be free--------------“ he finished sweetly.   
Suddenly his moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping. He glanced over at April who had shrugged off her ropes and was now standing and clapping. He stared at her wide eyed.  
“Bravo, Mr. Davidson,” She said in a British accent.


	8. Chapter 8

Four years earlier:  
Jon Davidson walked along the street on the way to a job interview. He really needed this position. His parents had died a year ago in a terrible car accident and he was currently living with his domineering grandfather. Saving money to move to America for a fresh start was just what it was going to take to move forward in life, and this potential job would provide the funds.  
Jon picked up the pace walking down the street. He was already nervous to begin with and now he was running late. He arrived in front of a restaurant with only a minute to spare. He took a deep breath and walked inside and someone lead him to a table in the back to meet with the owner.   
“Welcome to my establishment Mr…”  
“Jon Davidson, but I go by Davy,” he said handing the owner his resume` and shaking his hand. Davy noted that the restaurant had no patrons in it which seemed odd for a lunch rush time.  
“Davy, I am Alexander DiLaurentis the owner of this restaurant. We are currently filling the position of a bartender. Our last bartender…departed from us. Are you familiar with mixing drinks?”  
“Well, no sir, but I am a very fast learner.”  
“You know, kid, you seem like a go getter and I like that. I’m willing to give you a shot. Can you start now?”  
Davy was confused due to the lack of business, but was in no position to refuse work. “Certainly, sir.”  
He was suited into a uniform of black slacks with black suspenders, a white button down dress shirt, and black bow tie. He began looking at a bartender’s guide to familiarize himself with drink components. Mr. DiLaurentis had several “business associates” (as he put it) show up so Davy had a chance to practice his skills.   
“This kid makes a remarkable martini,” said an associate.  
“Thank you, sir.”  
Davy finished out his shift for that day. He never did make drinks for any actual customers only for the business associates. However, Mr. DiLaurentis had expressed being impressed with Davy’s skills and said he would see him again tomorrow.  
Davy left with the first genuine smile he had mustered in a long time. Finally, things were beginning to look up for him.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy had been working at the DiLaurentis Restaurant for some months now. He was still perplexed by the lack of customers in the restaurant and at the same time he was making more money than he could have imagined from a bartending job. Even though there were nagging questions about how this was even a possibility, Davy was just happy to be in the position he was in to worry about that.  
One day, Mr. DiLaurentis came to Davy with a request. “Davy, my boy, let me compliment your work ethic. It is impeccable. That’s why I would like to give you a few more responsibilities if you’re up for it.”  
“Of course, anything for you sir.”  
“Excellent. I need you to take this box to the corner of Main Street and Canal Street. A man will come and give you the code word ‘canary.’ You give him the box and come back. Got it?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“And one more thing, don’t look inside the box.”  
“You can count on me, sir.”  
This new responsibility sent Davy out of the restaurant a few times a week. The code word always changed as did the recipient of the deliveries. He was not one to question what was going on. Call it naivety or respect or a combination of both. Also, the monetary bonuses for each delivery weren’t too shabby. He was getting closer and closer to his goal of moving to America.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
One day, Davy noticed a black car had been following him walking towards a delivery spot. It parked during the delivery process and began following him afterward. He attempted to dodge his pursuers, but before he knew it he was dragged into the car. He found himself face to face with the cops  
“The jig is up, kid,” said the detective.  
“What jig? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”  
“Come on, don’t play dumb. You’re running merchandise for the Manchester Mafia.”  
“The what now?”  
“The DiLaurentis family runs the Manchester Mafia. They are notorious for illegal activities such as racketeering, gambling, and drug trafficking.”  
Davy stared at the detective stunned. It all made sense now. The abundance of money with no business at the restaurant and the constant mysterious deliveries. He never connected the dots. “I had no idea, I swear.”  
“Sure, kid. I’m sure you’re innocent,” the detective said with a hint of sarcasm.  
“No really. I would never want to engage in illegal activities. I’m just trying to earn money, honest.”  
“Can I test that innocence?”  
“Anything!”  
“I need you to be a man on the inside. You know record conversations; keep records of your deliveries. We have been trying to nab Alexander DiLaurentis for years and he has always eluded us. Whenever we have a man on the inside he mysteriously… never mind. We grant you immunity from participating in these illegal activities. What do you say?”  
Davy was in shock. He had no idea what to do. Well, he knew what he had to do because he was in between a rock and a hard place. There was no way he could tell the police no. They had him. He didn’t want to betray Mr. DiLaurentis. The man had treated Davy so well. He had to remember though that Mr. DiLaurentis was a criminal and needed to pay for his crimes.  
“What do I need to do?” he asked reluctantly.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy had been recording conversations as well as his every move working for Mr. DiLaurentis for months now. He was constantly on edge, not knowing when the police would strike or knowing if he would be discovered. He was at his monetary goal to move to America and was getting ready to make his movements.  
He let the police know that he would be finished with the undercover work. Davy refused to testify in the trial and requested that his identity as the source of information be kept anonymous. The police reluctantly agreed as long as he provided a written testimony.  
Davy worked his last shift in the restaurant. “Mr. DiLaurentis, I am resigning. I am finally leaving the country to move to Ireland.” No way was he telling the mafia where he was really going.  
“Davy, it saddens me to see you go. You have been my loyal employee this past year.”  
Yeah, loyal. “Thank you, sir.”  
“There will always be a place open for you here.”  
“It would be a privilege. Goodbye.”  
This was best case scenario. Leaving before the Manchester Mafia was arrested would take the suspicion off of him. He would be long gone before that happened.  
Davy kept up on news about the Manchester Mafia after his move to California. He read that Mr. DiLaurentis and other key players were charged with their crimes. They would be spending the rest of their lives in prison.   
The situation was a relief and it made Davy extremely paranoid for two years afterward. Constantly looking over his shoulder. He had finally become comfortable that his past would not come back to haunt him as long as he didn’t talk about it. Until…


	9. Chapter 9

“April? How did you manage to free yourself?...Was that a British accent? Mr. Davidson?” Davy asked confused.  
“Oh Davy,” she continued in the natural accent. “How soon you forget your true identity. You are Jon ‘Davy’ Davidson, correct? Former employee of Alexander DiLaurentis?”  
Davy stiffened. He had not heard that name in years and had not let thoughts of his time there enter his mind. He remained silent.  
“Ah, the strong silent type now. No matter, it gives the boss time to reveal the plan now. Meet the boss. Me. Natalie DiLaurentis, daughter of Alexander DiLaurentis and therefore in his absence the head of the Manchester Mafia.”  
Davy stared in stunned silence and felt a wave of fear wash over him.   
“Anyway, I’m guessing you didn’t think we would figure out you were the police informant or that we would figure out you came to California instead of Ireland. By the way clever name change of from Jon Davidson to David Jones. I would have personally chosen something that was not even close. You know like April Goodwin vs. Natalie DiLaurentis,” she laughed.  
Davy scowled and continued to listen.  
“We found you easily and have been surveillancing you for months, figuring out your lifestyle and habits. We noticed you had a weakness for ‘damsels in distress’ and came up with this clever theater ruse. I am working with my associate Vincent, which you may also know as Rob. We had to lure you into a trap and we knew you would come looking for your love when she went missing and you would let your guard down enough that we could capture you. Vincent followed you on your search for me and accosted you when you got close enough. Then we kept up the deception of my kidnapping to heighten your emotional state and produce suffering. Brilliant plan don’t you agree?”  
Davy finally spoke up, “My friends will come for me any minute! You’ll never get away with this!”  
“Oh, honey, don’t you think we already planned for that? We called and told them the benefit show was a bust and not to show up. I’m betting that they believe you’re consoling me. By time they notice you’re missing, we will be long gone.”  
Davy felt his panic level rise. “What are you gonna do with me?”  
“Darling, I’m not one to reveal my methods. However, you may have guessed that I plan to make you suffer incredibly for your betrayal. Vincent!”  
“Yes, Natalie?” Vincent appeared from the shadows.  
“Get him ready for transport,” she said coldly.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Mike and Micky walked down the spiral staircase expecting to see Davy and Peter already awake for the day. They were surprised to only see Peter at the table reading the paper.  
“Morning, Pete. Is Davy still sleeping from being out late?” Mike asked.  
“Davy never came home last night,” Peter answered absently.  
“Alright, Dave! Staying the night and getting some action!” Micky said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.  
Mike had a concerned look on his face. “It’s not like Davy to do this without letting us know. We haven’t heard from him at all since he left for the theater yesterday afternoon. Davy has always been a cautious guy and let people know exactly where he is. Something doesn’t feel right.”  
“I agree,” Peter said beginning to look nervous.   
“Okay, let’s call up April and ask her. I’m sure Davy’s there. Anyone have her number?” Micky asked.  
Peter and Mike both shook their head.  
“Um, no problem,” Micky stammered, “I’ll call the operator and get connected to the Goodwin Theater. It’s worth a shot.”  
Micky dialed the operator, “Hello, Goodwin Theater, please…Uh-huh…Uh-huh. Thanks.” Micky hung up looking bemused.  
“Well…” Mike asked.  
“She said that theater hasn’t had an operating phone for years since it hasn’t been occupied for years,” he answered.  
They all stood thinking and not speaking. This simply didn’t make sense.  
“I knew there was something suspicious about April,” Peter finally spoke up.  
Mike and Micky looked to their normally light hearted friend quizzically.  
“What do you mean, Pete?” Mike inquired.  
“I have had a gut feeling since I met April that something wasn’t quite right. I mentioned from the beginning that I thought that theater was closed. Davy was always so nervous around her and that is not his usual behavior around any girl. Also, it may have just been my imagination but when she came over two days ago I swear I heard a British accent.”  
Mike and Micky stared at Peter in stunned silence.  
“How did I not notice this?” Mike asked.  
“Peter, why didn’t you speak up?” Micky asked simultaneously.  
“Well, I thought I was being overly suspicious. Plus, I didn’t want to ruin things for Davy. He was so happy.”  
“Wow, this is the last time we refer to Peter as the dummy. Hell, Mike usually you are the judge of other peoples’ character and you completely missed this one,” Micky said.  
“Just because we have suspicions doesn’t mean anything yet. We don’t know anything and don’t want to jump to conclusions. Let’s drive around near the theater as well as Davy’s usual haunts. If we haven’t found him, we will go fill out a missing persons report,” Mike offered.  
“Right,” Peter and Micky said in unison. And off they went.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
After two more hours of no Davy, the guys decided that they needed to get professional help. They were waiting to speak with a detective and had become more nervous as time went on. Mike was pacing the waiting room at the station. Micky was wringing his hands so much that they were bright red. And Peter was biting his nails down to the bone.  
“Nesmith,” the receptionist called.  
“Yes, yes, yes that’s us,” Mike stumbled.  
“The detective will see you now.” She ushered them to an office in the back of the station.  
“Hello gentlemen. Detective Blackwell. What can I do for you?”  
“Detective, our friend Davy has been missing for a full 24 hours,” Mike began.  
“We haven’t seen him and the theaters not even open and Peter had suspicions about April and we are so worried,” Micky rambled so fast that he didn’t even take a breath.  
The detective looked at them questioningly.  
“Cool it, Micky. It’s a long story Detective Blackwell, but we are worried sick about him. This just isn’t like him.”  
“Give me his information,” the detective said.  
All three of them began to give descriptive information about Davy. But they came up short on some things.  
“So your friend is an immigrant. Is he here legally?” the detective asked.  
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve just always assumed so,” Mike answered.  
“Well we have on file all immigrants in the area. If we have a file on him then we will have a lot of the information needed. Give me a moment gentlemen,” Detective Blackwell said exiting the room.  
“Guess we don’t know as much about Davy as we thought we did,” Peter said.  
“We know enough. Besides you know he doesn’t mention his past much and immigrant status seems like it does fit that category,” Mike said.  
Detective Blackwell entered the room. “Sorry fellas we have no file on David Jones. See if you can get me some more documentation on him that would make this process easier.”  
“Thank you. Back to the pad guys,” Mike said hurriedly. They all tried to exit the detectives office through the door at the same time and got stuck.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
The guys had been searching around Davy and Peter’s room for Davy’s personal information for an hour. And so far they were coming up empty. Davy was very secretive about his past and his documentation was no exception. They were running out of places to look and things were beginning to look bleak.  
“Davy’s gone forever,” Peter wailed.  
“No he’s not we have to keep looking,” Mike said continuing to root around in Davy’s dresser drawers.  
“But we’ve looked everywhere in here,” Micky said nervously, “and unless Davy hid his things in our room Mike, I don’t know where the hell it would be.” Micky became frustrated and kicked the wall in the closet he was searching in. “Um guys, did you know this wall was hollow sounding?”  
Mike rushed over and began knocking on the wall. “It is hollow! I think there’s something behind here, forgive us Mr. Babbitt.” Mike started breaking through the wall and came across a small locked trunk. “Bingo.”  
They dragged the trunk out and began examining the padlock on the front.  
“I got this,” Peter said removing a set a small tools from a drawer. He fiddled with the lock for mere seconds and it was unlocked.  
The other two men watched Peter in stunned silence.  
“Peter, you’re full of surprises today. Remind me not to let you around my personal items,” Micky said after the initial shock wore off.  
Inside the trunk looked like much of the same stuff Davy had in the room. It all appeared meaningless. Mike began digging through the trunk and taking out trinkets. “Nada.”  
They all look into the trunk with feelings of discouragement. When something caught Micky’s eye.  
“Wait!” Micky exclaimed and began pulling up the lining at the bottom of the trunk. “False bottom.” He uncovered the bottom of the trunk revealing the documents they were looking for.  
Mike seized the papers. “Nice work, Mick. Let’s get this to Detective…Oh.”  
“What is it, Mike?” Peter asked.  
“Well, it looks like David Jones is not our friend’s real name.”  
Peter and Micky stared with mouths wide open.  
“We have been living with Jon Davidson.”  
“I guess we really don’t know Davy,” Micky said.


	11. Chapter 11

Davy just came to. Apparently, prepping someone for transport required knocking them out with chloroform. He was beginning to gather his wits again.   
He realized that his wrists were tied in front of him as well as his ankles and knees being tied. He had a gag in his mouth as well as a blindfold. Davy gathered that he was being transported in the trunk of a car. He struggled against all his bindings to no avail.  
He had absolutely no idea where he was going or what was going to happen to him. Davy was in a panic. The mafia were sure not to be people to underestimate. He was positive that the end result of this situation was going to be death. He gulped. How am I going to get myself out of this one?  
Sure the Monkees had gotten themselves out of their fair share of debacles over the years and kidnappings were no exception. But, these weren’t the bumbling crooks that he was used to dealing with. These were dangerous criminals. They had already deceived him into this situation and there was no telling how far they would go to make him suffer.  
The one thing Davy did realize was that panic was not going to do him any good. What he did learn from all his prior experiences was that a clear head was going to help him think about his next moves. He vowed to himself that he would stay strong to stay alive. He felt the car stop and he took a deep breath. Be strong, the guys will find you. They always do.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Micky was pacing a hole in the pad floor. “You guys read all that information Davy was keeping! This cannot be good.”  
In the trunk along with Davy’s personal documentation was a copy of this testimony and newspaper articles about the DiLaurentis trial. The guys could not deny their worry. There was an unspoken belief that whatever had happened to Davy definitely had the fingerprints of the Manchester Mafia all over it.  
Mike began to dial the phone. “Good Mike get the police on this,” Micky said.  
“Hello, Detective Blackwell,” Mike began, “this is Mike Nesmith….Yeah our friend Davy turned up back at home…Uh-huh….Thank you for your time.”  
Micky and Peter stared with gaping mouths. “Mike what in the hell are you doing? We need the police to help us find Davy! He’s gonna be killed! This is…”  
Mike slapped Micky across the face. “Thanks I needed that.”  
“Listen, this Manchester Mafia looks like serious business. I fear that if the cops get involved things are only going to get worse for Davy. I say we take matters into our own hands. We have a particular set of skills that seem to help us with these matters. We have foiled many a criminal in our day. Now let’s go find Davy! Who is with me!” Mike rallied standing on the kitchen table fist in the air.  
Peter was wiping his eyes with a tissue and all Micky could stammer was, “Wrong!”  
“Huh?”  
“Mike usually I’m the first in line for crazy rescue missions, but I feel like we are over our heads on this one. I know that police interference could be detrimental and at the same time they would have better ideas of what to do. We don’t even know where to start.”  
There was contemplative silence for a few moments.  
“Micky, I’m with Mike. Davy needs us and I think we are the only ones with enough heart to see this through,” Peter responded.  
“We need you Micky. It’s either all of us or no one.”  
Micky took only a second to answer. “For Davy I would do anything. Where do we go from here?”  
“First, we check out that theater,” Mike said determined.


	12. Chapter 12

The trunk opened and Davy could hear the voices of the thugs Bruce and Rick. “Welcome to our humble abode, pint-size.” They both laughed as they dragged him out of the trunk. Davy was vulnerable he couldn’t move, see, or speak. He had to try to keep up his optimism in order to survive.  
The thugs drug him inside a building. Davy was still blindfolded and was not sure where he was at exactly. He felt his tied hands being placed on a hook above his head so his arms were stretched up over his head. He was standing up with ankles still tied and gag in mouth. “The boss will come see you when she’s ready.”  
Davy heard the two leave the room. He couldn’t exactly be sure if he was alone, but he figured now was as good a time as any to try to break free. He began to move his ropes back and forth over the hook hoping that the ropes would fray and he could escape. He was exhausted and had no sense of what time/day it was, but he knew that he had to keep going.   
Suddenly, he heard the clicking of heels on the floor. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, darling. I have been standing here watching you for a few minutes. Don’t tell me you want to leave already,” Natalie stated as she walked towards him. “I so was hoping you would stay and play with me,” she said speaking in a voice to sound like ‘April.’  
Davy recoiled. Even though he now knew that ‘April’ was not real, it didn’t mean he didn’t miss the person he had fallen in love with. Natalie removed his blindfold and he glared at her with hatred in his eyes. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” she said trying to touch his face as he backed away. Davy continued to shoot her dirty looks.  
“It is unfortunate because you are such an attractive man,” she said tracing the angles of his face with her fingertips. “If you were not an enemy to my family I might have went for you.” He abruptly tried to reposition himself out of her grasp, even though he knew the efforts were futile.  
“You know you aren’t making this very easy for me,” she pouted, “but I love a challenge.” Natalie unbuttoned his shirt and began to trail her fingers up slowly up and down Davy’s torso. Davy squirmed and let a small whimper escape his still covered mouth. “Oh darling, are you ticklish?” she said continuing the teasing movements with both hands on each side of his torso all the way up to his underarms. This caused Davy to writhe around uncontrollably. “Sensitivity will be helpful to the suffering you’ll endure.” With that she took off his gag and gave him a long kiss biting his lower lip upon release.   
“Go to hell, Natalie,” he snapped as he spat in her direction hitting her shoulder.  
“What’s the matter? Can’t take the psychological torture? You’re feisty I respect that. But you’ve lost your talking privileges,” she snapped tying the gag back in his mouth. “You’ll regret doing that.” Natalie reached up and bent his finger in a way that it shouldn’t go and Davy let out a groan of pain. “Just wait until later that’s when the real fun begins and that was just a taste. It will take more than feist to get you out of this one. Bye, Love.” She blew him a kiss and was gone.  
Davy surveyed his surroundings for the first time. He seemed to be in a warehouse of sorts, but God knows where. Come one fellas. I have faith in you.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Mike stood in front of the Goodwin Theater with his hand over his face. “Do you guys have to make a spectacle of yourselves everywhere you go? This is a serious matter.”   
Micky took a drag out his pipe. “Elementary my dear Nesmith. If Peter Watson and Sherlock Dolenz make the situation lighter with costumes then maybe we can decrease our anxiety,” he said with a fake British accent.  
“Yeah and we look dashing,” Peter added.  
“C’mon you two,” Mike said grabbing the two of them and pulling them towards the back of the building. “We need to keep ourselves on the down low. Last thing we need is someone calling the cops about some long haired weirdoes breaking and entering.” Suddenly Mike turns around and Micky and Peter are now in ninja costumes. “I don’t even…whatever. Just help me find the side entrance.”  
The guys looked around and found a side door that was actually unlocked. They looked around to make sure no one was around and snuck inside. They all marveled at the grand décor just was Davy had. Also, were dejected by the size of the place. “This is going to take forever! Davy could be dead by then!” Micky moaned.  
“Well we have to try and do what we can. If we don’t look around we can’t move any steps forward in finding him,” Mike said. “Now we all look in the same place, no separating. No telling who may still be lurking around. Let’s start on the stage area and go from there.”  
The task was definitely daunting. Not only was the space large there was also so much clutter and storage space to look. This place for sure had been closed for some time noting the dust on everything. Additionally, they had absolutely no idea what to even look for or even if they did find anything useful if it would lead them to Davy.  
After a half hour of searching the same space, a shout broke everyone out of their mundane searching. “Hey guys! I found Davy’s tambourine and maracas!” said Peter excitedly. And sure enough right on top of a shelving unit was the Englishman’s instruments.  
“Boy they sure didn’t take the time to hide evidence,” Micky said.  
“I’m guessing it was an oversight, because they may have been in a hurry. Probably because they knew we would be hot on their trail,” Mike offered. “However, we don’t even know how long ago they left. Let’s move on to the area behind the stage.”  
As the three made their way back their eyes widened with discouragement. “What is with all these hallways? We should split up!” Micky complained.  
“No way! All together remember. I’m not losing another one of you,” Mike said. “Let’s start with this hall there’s only one door at the end.”  
They made their way down the long dimly lit hallway. “This one gives me the creeps,” Peter shuddered. “I have a feeling this one is it because it is so ominous.”  
When they reached the door Mike went to turn the handle and the door was stuck. “It must be jammed.” He went backwards and heaved his shoulder into the door. It did not budge. Peter joined Mike this time and with their combined shoulder power were able to push through a chair that must have been wedged under the door knob.   
“I have a feeling we are in the right room and that someone didn’t want us coming in here,” Mike said. “Spread out and look for clues.”  
The room itself was large in size, but there were not many items in the room. The room looked as though it was once used for dancers to practice. There were bars for doing ballet exercises and mirrors on the walls. It wasn’t difficult to find signs of foul play in that room. Besides the chair that was against the door, there was another chair with ropes on the floor nearby. “Again someone was not that concerned with hiding evidence,” Micky said.  
“Or they thought the door being jammed would cause us to move along and think that the room could not have possibly been occupied,” Peter answered.  
“By George, Watson, I think you’ve got it!” Micky replied.  
“Well this definitely confirms our theory that Davy was kidnapped. I think it’s safe to say too that it was the Manchester Mafia. Who else could have done this that April would be working with?” Mike said. “I don’t even know where to go from here. We don’t have any clues to show where they may have taken him.”  
“It’s like we need to think like a criminal, but we don’t know how to do that,” Peter said.  
“No…” Mike paused, “but I think I know someone who does. Micky when was the last time you visited family?”


	13. Chapter 13

Davy woke up. Amazing to think he was able to fall asleep with all that was going on, but his body did need the rest. Staying awake all the time was not going to do him any favors. He needed to be rested to defend against anything that would come his way and if an opportunity presented itself for escape. Doubtful, but planning ahead never hurt anyone.  
He surveyed his surroundings once more. He was no longer propped up on the hook he was now tied in a chair with hands tied on the armrests and ankles tied to the legs of the chair. How could I have slept through that movement? He was sure chloroform played a role in that. This new positioning was sure to have something to do with what was coming up next for him.  
Davy kept trying to stay calm, but it was really difficult. He had no concept of time, no way of knowing where he was, and the fear of the unknown was continuously creeping up. He was still struggling with thoughts of feeling stupid for letting his guard down and falling for ‘April’ so quickly. Also, he missed being in the relationship even if it wasn’t real.   
He had to draw strength from somewhere to make it through the days before his friends rescued him. Davy had so much faith in those three that it was keeping him optimistic. And what was bound to piss off his captors? A hopeful spirit. They would thrive off the idea of him being worn down. Davy could not let on that he was feeling defeated. He was an entertainer after all. He could do that.  
Instantly, the door swung open. Show time.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Mike, Micky, and Peter stared the person on the other side of glass window they were seated in front of. Micky picked up the phone receiver on the wall next to him. “Hello, Babyface.”  
“What the hell are you three doing here,” the criminal doppelgänger hissed. “Haven’t I dealt with enough with you guys putting me in prison? To what do I owe this pleasure?”  
“Well, you see our friend Davy has been kidnapped by the English mafia…”  
“I heard the English were in town.”  
“How could you possibly know that?”  
“I have friends on the outside. We keep up on the crime that’s going on in our area, you know protecting our turf. My guy said there were mafia people around that looked too proper to be from around these parts. He cased them for a while to see what they were up to. Turns out it seemed they were bent on revenge rather than trying to infiltrate our business. So he stopped paying attention to them.”  
“Anyway, we have no idea what has happened to Davy and we need to save him before something terrible happens.”  
“Why come to me?”  
“Because you know the ins and outs of criminal activity in this area and we figured you would give us some information. We can’t even begin to think like a criminal…no offence.”  
“And what makes you think I would help you three?”  
“What have you got to lose?”  
“I don’t have anything to lose, but I could gain satisfaction in knowing that I let you all experience horrible pain and suffering.”  
“We’ll pay you,” Peter blurted out grabbing the receiver from Micky.  
Babyface Morales stared them down for a moment. A smile spread across his face. “Now we’re talking. Okay, I don’t have the information you’re specifically looking for about where your friend has been taken to. I do know the way mafias/mobs work and more than likely they have him in an abandoned warehouse somewhere not nearby but also not extremely far. The ones that seem to be popularly used these days are along the road when you head east from Malibu.”  
“So you think he is still alive,” Micky asked hopefully.  
“I don’t know what caused your friend to be kidnapped by this mafia, but if I know my hardened criminals…which I do…they will want to torture him before killing him. Death would be too quick and easy. They want to see the person suffer before they kill them to know that a debt has been paid so to speak. So hit the warehouses. That’s all I can provide.”  
“Thanks! Alright men on with this rescue mission!” Mike said as he and Micky abruptly left the room.  
“Hey, wait! What about my payment?” Babyface asked Peter.  
“Oh you’re a handsome man,” Peter replied.  
“What?”  
“I paid you a compliment. Bye”  
Babyface stood up ready to attack. “I’ll kill you guys!” he screamed as two armed guards pushed him back towards his cell.


	14. Chapter 14

Vincent walked towards Davy with a menacing smile on his face. “Hello Davy,” he said, “I hear that you’ve been quite difficult lately. You seem to be keeping up a courageous spirit.”  
Davy just started him down with a look of contempt. He wished that he could punch that stupid smile off his face.  
“Well, I’m hoping that I can work towards breaking that spirit and making you suffering worsen.” He took the gag out of Davy’s mouth.  
“Go ahead you bastard. Do your worst.”  
“Very well. Are you familiar with interrogation?” Davy nodded. “As you know we utilize interrogation methods to get information out of a person. It may seem to not apply to your situation since we already know you were the informant in the DiLaurentis sting. We do need some other information from you.”  
Davy stared at Vincent questioningly and nervous. “What the hell could you possibly need from me?”  
“So, I’m familiar with the fact that your friends know about ‘April’ and if you’ve gone missing I’m sure they will come looking for you. Natalie said that you told her about all of the predicaments you all have found yourselves in over the years.”  
Davy just stared. He regretted immediately getting them dragged into this mess. Who cares what happened to him, don’t hurt the guys. “What is your point?”  
“We went searching for them because we don’t need any witnesses. You know make it look like an accident to cover our tracks. However, they have not been home for a few days our surveillance has informed us. We need to know where they might be. And you’re going to tell us.”  
“How am I supposed to know? I’ve been spending this lovely vacation with you,” Davy said sarcastically.  
“You know their habits and where they may go.”  
“So should you, remember you all spied on us for some time.”  
Vincent slapped him across the face. “You will give us information the easy way or you will suffer and then give us the information. Either way I’m getting it. Your choice. What do you say?”  
Davy sat in silence. Vincent waited for a few minutes before revealing a switchblade. “Last chance,” he said waving the blade in front of Davy’s eyes.  
“Never.”  
Vincent made a long cut along Davy’s left forearm. Davy hissed in pain and began swearing under his breath.  
“How about now?” Vincent chuckled.  
“I won’t talk.”  
With that he got a swift punch to the abdomen. “That strong will won’t get you anywhere.”  
“Well I know to get to them you need to keep me alive for now. Also, I don’t think you’d kill me yet, because unfortunately my suffering hasn’t ended yet. So you will have to give up eventually, unless you want to piss off your boss.”  
Vincent stabbed him in the right shoulder and Davy screamed out in pain.  
“You better hope we don’t find those friends of yours, because I bet it would hurt you even more to see them suffer more than you. Bruce! Rick! Come on over and work over our guest here. When you’re done set him up with sensory deprivation. Maybe some time with nothing to focus on but the pain of your injuries will loosen your tongue.”  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Micky, Mike, and Peter had been headed east for two days. They stopped only for gas, restrooms, and slept in the Monkeemobile. They were so far out from Malibu that if it weren’t for signs they would have absolutely no idea where they were.  
“Look there’s another warehouse,” Peter spotted exhaustedly.  
Mike pulled over about a mile away so as not to be seen in case they stumbled upon illegal activities. They had stumbled upon three warehouses during the trip. None of the warehouses contained their missing bandmate. One warehouse appeared to have illegal activities going on, but there was no way they were getting involved in that mess. They had enough trouble as it was.  
There was no need to have a talk about acting inconspicuous because they were already on a routine. What they hadn’t planned though was what to do if Davy was found. How would they fight the Manchester Mafia? Deep down it may have been what no one wanted to say. That they felt hopeless about finding Davy and didn’t expect to.  
“Here we go again,” Micky stated crawling around the bottom of the building in order not to be seen.  
The warehouse itself was not large. It appeared to have been previously a factory, but all the machinery had long since been taken out. The remaining Monkees scanned the room through a small window and noticed one piece of furniture in the mostly vacant room.  
“Is that what I think it is?” Mike asked. His eyes were focused on a figure in the middle of the floor. It was a person wearing only a pair of jeans, tied to a chair with headphones, a gag, and blindfold. The brown hair and short stature looked familiar.  
“Davy!” they all gasped in unison as they watched another familiar figure approach him.


	15. Chapter 15

Davy had been in sensory deprivation for what seemed like days, but he was sure it was hours. The mafia wanted him to suffer through his injuries without being able to be distracted by other senses. He had to admit the pain was unbearable, but he would not give them the satisfaction of breaking his spirit.  
During his captivity from senses, he had various people (or the same he didn’t actually know) come check on him. He could sense someone close to him and at times they would inflict pain on him in some way. At one point, someone went to adjust his ropes, changing to tying his wrists behind his back with his shoulders strapped to the back of the chair. When one wrist was untied, Davy made a move to attack his captor blindly. The person grabbed his wrist and twisted it. He did not dare try that again.  
To pass the time, Davy had worked on two songs in his head loosely based on this experience. Now he was humming The Girl I Knew Somewhere. Since he had no concept of when someone was approaching he was surprised to have his blindfold and headphones removed. Natalie stood in front of him, “Hello, Love. Ready for a good time.” She removed his gag.  
“Well goodbye dear, I just can’t take this chance again. My fingers are still burning from the last time,” he sang ironically.  
“You are one tough egg to crack, aren’t you?”  
“What can I say? I’m more interested in making things difficult for you. There’s absolutely no way I would let you have the gratification. Even though I have become so fond of this luxury,” he rolled his eyes.  
She smiled menacingly and took his chin in her hand. Davy wrenched his face away. “I see we have broken that feist down yet.” She smacked him across the face.  
While gaining back his composure he had an idea. What did they use sometimes to get the upper hand against criminals? Psychological warfare. If he could work toward breaking down their bonds and confidence he may be able to finagle some diversion. He had nothing to lose.  
“I’m surprised that you even have the confidence to keep up this charade.”  
“Excuse me?”   
“Well, you’re not your father. I worked for him. I remember what he was capable of. It appears as though you’re making this up as you go along. Seems quite unprofessional and chaotic.”  
“I have been in charge for years since my father’s incarceration. I have kept this organization…Why am I explaining this to you?”  
“Because you have to assert your competence. Seems as though you are slightly self-conscious. That’s just my observations. It’s difficult to live in someone’s shadow, especially someone in such high regard. And I’m sure you didn’t receive the guidance you required. It’s a shame.”  
“What are you getting at?”  
“I shouldn’t be influenced by others anyway.”  
“What?”  
“Just seems as though Vincent and your other goons are talking about how great things ‘used to be.’ I don’t think they have much respect for you as a leader. Then again what do I know?”  
Davy noticed subtle changes in her facial expression as he spoke. He knew that she would also be difficult to crack and he believed progress was being made.  
“What do you know?” she snapped. “You have no idea what this job entails. I’ll be back.”  
She stomped out of the room. Davy felt more hopeful than he had in a while.   
Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the sound of muffled yelling. Someone entered the building.  
“Alright who are the wise guys that intruded on our illegal hideout,” a man in a pinstripe suit called out.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
A few moments prior…  
“We’ve got to get him out of there before they kill him,” Mike said desperately watching the interaction inside the warehouse. “Micky, now would be a great time for one of those brilliant ideas.”  
“I’m working on it,” Micky said pacing back and forth. “First of all, I think we need to contact the police so that we don’t get in over our heads.”  
“Good idea. Pete, go drive a few miles back to that gas station and use the payphone.”  
Peter ran and was gone quicker than someone could say Clarksville.   
“In the meantime, we have to create a diversion so that they lay off of Davy,” Mike said.  
“Way ahead of you, Mike. I have that brilliant idea.”  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Davy looked up at the commotion that was going on. He was stunned to see Micky and Mike dressed in pinstripe suits with Vincent and Natalie hot on their heels.  
“Who the bloody hell are you two?”  
“Who are we? Who are we?” Micky shouted in his James Cagney impression. “Tell them who we are Tex.”  
“We are the purple flower gang,” Tex aka Mike answered.  
“But your flowers are white,” Vincent questioned.  
“Do you know how hard it is to find purple flowers,” Mike answered.  
“Again I ask, who you all think you are taking over our turf?” Micky said.  
“I’m the head of the Manchester Mafia, Natalie DiLaurentis. We are in the middle of something,” she said gesturing towards Davy, “and don’t need your interruptions. Bruce! Rick! Take care of these two.”  
Just then Peter entered in his gangster outfit. “If your calling your two henchmen, I took care of them. They will be sleeping for a while.”  
“Atta boy Spider,” Micky said. He got really close to Peter and Mike, “How did you manage that?”  
“I put them in a sleeper hold. I went to assassins camp as a kid.”  
Mike and Micky mouthed ‘assassins camp’ to each other.  
“What? My parents signed up for the good camps too late.”  
“Full of surprises!”  
“Excuse me?” Natalie said impatiently. “We were here first and are not prepared to give up without a fight.”  
“Not prepared to give up without a fight,” Mike laughed. “Then when are you prepared to give up? We have business to attend to.”  
Just then the sound of sirens startled Natalie and Vincent. Micky and Peter took that opportunity to accost the two while Mike untied Davy.   
The cops entered guns drawn. Peter and Micky motioned to them to take Natalie and Vincent into custody. Another cop ushered Davy and Mike out towards an ambulance, where he could get medical treatment and a statement. Davy needed to lean on Mike as he was weak from the ordeal. Peter showed the officers where Bruce and Rick were after Natalie and Vincent were taken out.


	16. Chapter 16

Once the chaos died down and the mafia was off to prison, Davy was patched up and medically cleared to make the trek home.  
“Fellas I can’t even express my gratitude. You saved my life!”  
“Man, you would have done the same for us,” Mike said.  
“Plus we kind of like you,” Micky said.  
“How did you find me?”  
“Listen, Tiny, there are so many questions we have too. For now though, I think you need to rest on the ride home,” Mike said.  
“Sounds good to me,” Davy settled into the back of the car.  
The guys arrived home very late that night. They had been driving around for a couple days to begin with, but made almost no stops on the way home to ensure that they could get Davy home at last. They all went into their respective rooms without more than a goodnight between them. It had been a long arduous journey and everyone was due for some rest.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
The following day, everyone felt refreshed. and was ready to spend the day catching up and filling in the gaps for each other’s stories. Davy letting the his friends know what transpired in the theater and warehouse. The guys telling him about their quest to locate him.  
"Davy, we are sorry we invaded your personal items in your trunk," Peter said.  
"Not to worry. You needed to do that and believe me I'm glad you all were able to find my hiding places. Not an easy task I might add," Davy answered.  
"I didn't know you led such a mysterious existence...then again I did learn a lot about Peter this week too," Micky said. "By the way don't get on Peter's bad side."  
"Micky! Those skills are only used during desperate times. Otherwise, I wish I didn't know them. I'm not into violence and deception," Peter said.  
"So Jon Davidson, are you planning on continuing to keep a low profile and remain an enigma?" Mike asked.  
"Don't call me Jon," Davy cringed. "I have always went by Davy since I was named after my father. This turn of events has taught me to be more open with those I trust. No, I'm not going to tell every person I meet that I was a police informant for the mafia and then was kidnapped and tortured by them. I will be selective."  
"Call me crazy, but if you tell girls about your dark past I bet they would flock to you even more," Micky joked. "Oh Davy, were you scared? You're so brave. I bet you looked sexy," Micky finished in a faux woman's voice.  
Davy pushed him off the couch with one swift movement. "Don't make me sic Peter on you."  
"Well, I know one thing for sure," Mike said. "I don't want to get all corny, but I was worried about you. I was afraid we had lost you, Tiny. I would have done anything and sacrificed anything to get you back. I...We love you, Dave."  
Peter began hysterically crying and blowing his nose. "That was beautiful, Mike."  
"Yeah, even though we can get on each others nerves and tease each other. I couldn't see my life without any of you," Micky added.  
"I guess in our own way...The Monkees are like the mafia. You're in for life. Nobody gets out,"  
Davy said with a smile.  
The rest of them had to agree. No one was leaving. There was no giving up without a fight.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Mike and Micky woke up to a frantic Peter shouting their names from downstairs. “What’s all the commotion about?” Mike asked.  
“Davy is not in our room and not around here! With everything that’s happened I’m so worried!” Peter said so fast without taking a breath.  
“Everyone cool it! Get ready to go looking…” Mike said.  
They all scrambled about pulling on clothes and shoes. It was amazing with that amount of distress that they could even get their clothes on frontwards. They quickly steered themselves towards the front door when the back door opened and Davy walked in.   
“Morning fellas. What’s going on?” He noticed the concerned looks on their faces.  
The other three heaved sighs of relief and sat slumped over against the wall. They staggered towards the table working to stave off the adrenaline rush that had kicked in.  
“We were just worried about you thats all. We may still be a bit on edge for a while,” Mike said.  
Davy stared down at his bare feet. He felt guilt swell in his chest. He had put the guys through so much and now they were still stressed about making sure he was okay. He felt like a burden. Even though it had been a month since he was rescued, he found himself still judging of himself for letting his guard down with the Manchester Mafia and risking not only his life but his friends too. Davy was angry at himself for his naivety.   
“Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you. I just needed some time alone on the beach. You know sort out my thoughts.”   
“Are you doing okay?” Peter asked.  
“I’m trying to be. It’s just a process that I need to work through and I know it will take time. But time won’t fly it’s like I’m paralyzed by it. I want to be my old self again and I’m still trying to find it. Will I ever be me again?”  
No one knew how to answer that. How could they possibly know how someone would or should react to that scenario? The silence was an obvious answer to the question. And in some ways Davy meant it to be rhetorical because he didn’t expect anyone to know the answer. He eventually broke the silence.  
“I do want to apologize though for putting us all in danger and not being up front about my past. From now on no secrets. I thought hiding the past would keep me safe, but that wasn’t the case. I ended up causing more damage.”  
“Davy, it’s understandable why you would keep that private in order to protect yourself. We are just glad you’re safe. You know we would go to the ends of the Earth to keep each other safe. No apologies necessary,” Mike answered.  
“Right,” Peter added.  
“Thanks you guys. What did I do deserve friends like you?”  
“Obviously the same thing all of us did to deserve each other,” Peter said misty eyed.  
“I have a brilliant idea to get your mind off of things,” Micky said in hopes of breaking up the sentimentality of the situation. “Helping me with my new venture, a landscaping business. We need to start walking around the beach and collecting supplies. I call it ‘Steppin’ Stone Landscaping’.”  
Mike rolled his eyes, “Here we go again.”  
“I wouldn’t expect any less from Micky,” Davy said with a laugh. “This kind of chaos is a welcome alternative to what has been running through my mind.  
“I don’t have to worry about you encouraging him now too, do I?” Mike sighed.  
“No not at all. Just hearing about the ideas and watching him work on them is enough of a distraction for me.”  
“Probably a better distraction would be to practice and get back into the routine of everyday life. I feel like we haven’t rehearsed in ages,” Mike countered.  
“Right you are,” Davy agreed.  
“Don’t think I’m going to forget about this idea though,” Micky warned, “it’s a gold mine.”  
“I thought it was landscaping,” Peter said scratching his head.  
The guys began prepping their instruments and Davy hung back for a few moments just watching them. He had no idea his plans for the rest of the day or even with this rehearsal, but he knew that the possibilities were endless. He began gathering up his instruments and took a deep breath before entering out into the sure utter chaos that awaited him.


End file.
